It’s so nice to see the extremely high quality standards that Jim Fuller developed being maintained, since he sold the company. Mark has really carried on the pedigree Rifle Dynamics holds.
ironically from what Jim said it seems they aren't keeping up and possibly why he sold dynamics it seems. That said in podcast he didn't seem to have any hate or dislike its more so in commercial production setting volume just doesn't allow the attention Jim wanted to put into each rifle. still best AK from what I've heard just your comment remined me of that podcast he talked about it.
So about 15 years ago my $80 Romy g kit began on my basement work bench where my hyper dynamic dremel engineers removed the rivets and engaged in thermal and tactile preparing of components components. It was then moved to my work bench where a newly folded receiver that had been orogamically manipulated to mate with the specific trunional and barrelistic aspects of the rifle. Next, it was moved to my work bench where intensive micro production individual alignment techniques manifested the satisfaction of internal aspects required for this combloc beast to go boom. That included installation of horizontal planes , striking surfaces, ignition commencement components, and the tempering of ferris materials. Next, it was moved to my work bench where several layers of rustolium (black) were applied in staggered phases with care which ensured the desired and even distribution of complexion to the indicated surfaces. Next, it was moved to my work bench ( I regret this part) where my skilled technicians surgically replaced the original romy wood with tapco plastic. Next, it was moved to the range where steel cased ammunition conceived of and constructed by the greatest minds of Eastern Europe were cycled through Natasha. All in probably about $200.
That looks like a nice job to have. It never crossed my mind to try painting guns as a side gig, but maybe that's a good way to put some arts and crafts skills to use.
I paid for an RD-701 four years ago. I cringed at the price, and a lot of my buddies wondered why I’d spend that kinda money on a “glorified WASR”. I’ve put 8k rounds through it so far. Zero malfunctions. Super smooth action and a nice trigger. It eats whatever ammo I throw at it and shoots well. The Ultimak gas tube that RD mounted at the factory still holds zero perfectly. The paint holds up extremely well. And most importantly, it justified its own price point. Shout out to Rifle Dynamics. Great customer service too, very friendly and knowledgeable.
Everything you just described my wasr has already done. You needed to pay $4000 for a trigger job and installing an ultimak (which is literally the most dogshit mounting platform on the planet, btw)? A food and his money I guess.....
That moment when you could have found like a $700 wasr at that same time and it's performance would have been the exact same as your meme rifle minus being "pretty"
The customer service is outstanding. Years ago Karen Fuller (original R.D. owner's wife) personally emailed me just to make sure I was happy - she didn't need to email me at all. Mrs. Fuller just wanted to double check that I was satisfied since I had an unusual request about re-doing a rear sight. They should've charged me for it and they didn't - and they paid for shipping too! She went out of her way to provide above and beyond service, like I was family, some jerk pampered celebrity, or something like that. That ethos seems to still be with the company, thank fucking God. Jim Fuller created a winning formula - they are carrying the torch quite well under the new owner - hope they keep it up!
I’ll always love high quality QC, which RD seems to still be doing. When it all comes down to it, it’s hard justifying buying an AK for more than or about the same price as an HK MR556 (which highly arguably has a lot more engineering applied to the design and function of many individual parts). This is especially true when companies like Meridian Defense are charging about a grand less for the equivalent rifle. 1911 Syndicate put of a good video regarding this topic.
There's either someone making a bunch of money or some cost inefficiencies for an ak with an ultimak and an m4 buffer and stock to cost as much as an SR15
Don't like it - don't buy one. But this style of rifle fits the bill for quite a few high end, large volume shooting AK guys. And if I am looking for a top tier U.S.-built Kalash, R.D. has a much longer, well-proven track record than Meridian. It's more appropriate to say Meridian is over-priced for what it is...
@@kden9772 It's old world style craftsmanship and hand fitting on a rifle design that already requires a ton of hand fitting and precision to build to PROPER specs - with well-paid American dollar labor. It's gonna cost a pretty penny - the nature of the beast. My RD503 is easily the best AK I've ever shot in every way - and it's been shot a ton.
@@justanothergunnerd8128 If I was gonna buy an American AK for professional use I’d buy an RD, and that means something. Unfortunately I’m not in that situation
I'm amazed at the quality of these guys can do. Looking around the shop through out this video you can tell they're using the space as best they can but could use more. Maybe they could use their own building in the future. I'd love to get one of these rifles some time. Seeing how these smaller companies operate is really interesting to me especially knowing they level of quality they are capable of.
I used to work there, it used to be even less space it was really just 2 units for building and finishing. But like he said in the video they used to just be one small unit. They definitely are making use of space as best they can.
I loved the thumbnail for this video. It reminds me of whenever Jeremy Clarkson is dealing with engine repair, random whacking with a hammer and fire happen.
Awesome tour. Only thing I saw that looked weird was putting all that torque on the muzzle device with only the magwell supporting it, the whole thing was flexing. But I don't build AKs for a living and these dudes make really nice ones so Im guessing that's no big deal. I just figured they would have used a more solid way to hold it. Not as easy as with an AR where you can use something locked into the barrel extension lugs.
There's definitely better ways to hold the rifle securely. And notice earlier in the video when he is riveting the receiver..... crooked, low quality tooling being used. Everything else in the tour seemed to be good though. But not impressed by these two points.
If you look carefully the mag is reinforced with what appears metal coming out the bottom of the mag. Just not sure how much of that piece of metal goes into the mag.
Even when torquing muzzle devices on ARs it’s always best to hold the barrel itself. While you’ll probably be okay, the barrel extension is a separate piece and holding it when torquing the muzzle puts stress on the connection.
@@TheHashtagSquad2K15 that is a dog shit method of torquing the castle nut on. There are real jigs for doing it, that blow away a magwell insert. Literally no one advocates torquing a muzzle device with a magwell insert.
Did the build class last year. Loved it. Titus does AMAZING paint work. And I absolutely agree on the quality. My RD704 is a 12.5” barrel and I’m getting around 1.5 MOA with basic ammo. With good ammo I’ve shot 1.25 MOA
But but I was told AKs were just scrap metal whacked together by drunken Russians! Unbelievable. Seriously though, good coverage! I like the attention to detail and transparency these guys have, seems like a nice company!
I have two old Jim Fuller guns (back before Rifle Dynamics was really a thing, it had more or less just started). I'm sad to say that my experience with RD many years later was less than stellar. I suspect there's a number of reasons Jim Fuller sold that company off and started over.
I would love to work at a company like this, too bad they aren't open to the public would be cool to see their showroom if they had one since I'm local.
8:00 wtf is that guy doing? The gun is held in the vise with a magazine and he’s using the torque wrench wrong. The tool should be 90 degrees to the torque wrench. Wtf!
The amount of work that goes into them and the hand assembly testing and the fact that they are all fired zeroed and fine tuned for suppressors and ejection pattern, I’d say it’s well worth the asking price.
As much as I'm not a lover of your Glock fanboy and anti-1911 attitude, you have the best interviews and tours, bar none. Even though I'm not an AK lover and don't own one, watching the Rifle Dynamics tour almost makes me want to go out and buy one. Keep up the excellent work.
@4:10 nice custom tool there. never thought a shotgun shell would be the necessary tool for proper AK assembly.... maybe a vodka cork, but not a shotgun shell. lol
I believe they are worth the price but i just cannot afford the price. Really enjoyed the tour and these guys seem to like what they are doing. The owner doing all the testing say a lot also to the quality of the product. Thanks TFB tv
@@justanothergunnerd8128 Or buy a Zastava and use the $2K you saved on ammo,much better deal. $3k for any AK is way too much,I'll gladly pay that for some guns which are actually worth that, but never on an AK.
@@m.w.2401 bro fr. Itd be nice to have one but my zastava shoots just as good. Maybe its because I couldn’t afford it but i cant see spending 3 grand on one gun.
I think I get it. Nothing was mentioned about the quality of materials used? Billet aluminum or forged receivers? The quality comes from the labor intensive assembly process. $2700 is a lot of money for a rifle. Surely, it must come with a lifetime warranty?
This is a fantastic view into a smooth operation, and man these rifles look amazing. Your tour guide Austin is great on camera too, very comfortable. Some people cannot speak well and move well on camera.
I love my Rifle Dynamics 503. It is hands down the best quality Kalashnikov I've ever handled or shot - in every way. And it's had lots of rounds down the pipe...
To be fair it is a small company doing semi custom guns, you can't expect German like workmanship on an American gun (other that maybe an infinity or sti or something). The AK market in the US kinda sucks and this is definitely the best you can get. They were definitely better when Jim ran the company though.
Really interesting and entertaining video, price not worth it for everyone but years in business and growing sure says the demand is there, very good video!
Holy shit... genuinely top notch work from the folks at Rifle Dynamics and they look amazing as well........ with this said here's the "but". As for myself, I'll never pay this kind of dough on an AK and I say this with no disrespect to anyone, specially these guys. Based from what I know and experienced in my 35 years of shooting and owning multiple platforms, including AKs, they're are basic and rugged workhorses. One of the most successful attributes of this design is able to be mass produced as quickly as possible and as cost efficient as possible. Another top successful attribute of this platform, is its wide tolerance to function with little focus on precision. Being fortunate to have experienced Chinese, Romanian, Serbian (Yugos) and Russian variants of AKs, at a high success rate and at only a 1/3 of the price from one of the base model, it doesn't really do it for me. I'm one for improvement and I'm sure the rifle dynamics platforms has its advantages over run of the mill units but, I think these advantages do not justify the cost for me. Thanks for the video and inside look to an American company TFB..
Very cool place and its clear they take pride in their work. However, their 506 14.5" Rifle STARTS at $3,250!!!!!!!!! I mean they look very high quality but "insane" doesn't even begin to describe what they are charging for an AK.
I was lucky enough to do the thunder ranch class and I got to say all the people there are awsome. And the rifles a well worth the price. Best AK iv ever shot
We could make an AK in about 3 hrs ,but we need to justify the outrageous price for putting together surplus parts kits .and gaslighting about superior quality
Crazy that 2600 for a akm, the an guy knocks them out for 800-1200, I respect the pride they put in but damn, its crazy, especially for a stamped receiver, they sell milled receivers for less then that
It sounds like a winery blending event. They use that information to help form product decisions. I won one of those events once, it was fun. I got shtfaced.
This is coming from a bolt gun long distance shooters opinion. The level of precision from mil 7.62x39 doesn’t make a 3K investment in their product valid.
Nope…. As someone who’s collected AKs for 20yrs the ROI for their performance isn’t worth it. They’re third world rifles that are extremely cheap everywhere but in the US. For some reason when the AR guys got tired of their legos they picked up a brick and threw money at it. I sent a SAM7 to rifle dynamics years ago. It’s nice but not as nice as my milled Chinese “junk”.
I'm so proud to have purchased from RD and look forward to making another purchase soon. If yall actually work your rifle and train then this is the tool you want in your hands
Its my opinion they're overpriced for what you get. Suggest checking out occam defense becaise they are the ones actually breaking new ground with how an AK is built. Not just installing a crappy trigger and rail system, a paint job and then charging $4k.
Unfortunately they’ve came down since Jim left. I’m lucky to own an Arsenal Slr106 he worked on for me. They need to watch there qc, watch the dust cover @ 5:50. Yea 5.45 is higher pressure but the lip on front trunnion and recoil spring should prevent that.
I think that's more of a perception than based in fact. That gun is featured in another video we are making and is an older RD gun, possibly built by/during Fuller. If the topcover slightly flexing when firing suppressed is, indeed, a problem, how do you know that this is a post-Fuller gun? The problem seems to be more that "it was better back then" guys looking for problems with the new RD guns.
@justanothergunnerd Fuck no, imports only. PSAKs are trash. Rifle dynamics is grossly overpriced, hype beast WASRs with ugly ass, CHEAP CLAMPED ON GAS BLOCKS. Shit looks so tacky, I bet you wear gay ass pit vipers too.
@@justanothergunnerd8128justify your Gucci Romanian kit build somewhere else, Psa,Kusa and RD are garbage, would rather have a kit build by a professional or an import which at the time of typing such as a beryl for 1500 which definitely beats the 2500+ usd price.
